Qwan'tez London Stiggers (born January 8, 2002) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

cornerback for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Unlike most professional football players, Stiggers did not play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Early life

Stiggers grew up in a family of 13 children and attended

The B.E.S.T. Academy The B.E.S.T. Academy at Benjamin S. Carson (BEST) was opened in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in August 2007. For a short time the academy was simply referred to as "the boys' single gender academy," but was later named by its first principal, C ...

high school in Atlanta where he played American football, basketball, and baseball. One of his brothers was almost left as a quadriplegic after a spinal cord accident playing football. Stiggers' father was involved in a serious car accident on February 14, 2020, and later died on September 19, 2020, while Stiggers was a freshman at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee; his father's death caused him to enter into a significant depression that resulted in him dropping out despite being on a scholarship.

Professional career

Fan Controlled Football

At the urging of his mother, Stiggers tried out for and signed with

Fan Controlled Football Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is a professional 7-on-7 Indoor football league created in 2017 as the first sports league controlled by fans. All games are played at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia and broadcast on Twitch, NBCLX, DAZN, ...

(FCF), a livestreaming indoor American football league. He played during the 2022 FCF season and caught the attention of former Toronto Argonauts offensive coordinator Josh Jenkins, who suggested he should try out for the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Toronto Argonauts

Stiggers signed with the Argonauts of the on January 4, 2023, and attended the team's rookie camp at the University of Guelph later that May. While many expected him to be cut during the preseason due to his lack of college or professional experience, Stiggers made the team's initial regular season roster and also became a regular starter for the Argonauts during his rookie

2023 CFL season The 2023 CFL season was the 69th season of modern professional Canadian football. Officially, it was the 65th season of the Canadian Football League. Hamilton hosted the 110th Grey Cup on November 19. The regular season began on June 8, and ended ...

, successfully transitioning to play Canadian football. He played in 16 regular season games where he had 53 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, and five interceptions. By the end of the year, he was chosen as the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie and as a

CFL East The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

All-Star, as well as selected to attend the 2024 East–West Shrine Bowl prior to the 2024 NFL draft.

New York Jets

Stiggers was selected with the 176th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the

. He was the first player drafted directly from the CFL since

Jermaine Haley Jermaine Leroy Haley (born February 13, 1973) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played c ...

in 1999.

References

External links

New York Jets bio

CFL bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiggers, Qwantez 2002 births Living people American football safeties American football cornerbacks Toronto Argonauts players Canadian football defensive backs Players of American football from Atlanta New York Jets players Lane College alumni Players of Canadian football from Atlanta Fan Controlled Football players